


The Changes We Make

by DisorientedOwl, OtomeGirl



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers (IDW 2019), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: ESL, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:41:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28438542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisorientedOwl/pseuds/DisorientedOwl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtomeGirl/pseuds/OtomeGirl
Summary: Starscream and Tarn are in a relationship, despite all of the ups and downs they're just crazy in love, right? After all neither of them are blameless and both can have their bad days. Well, their days get worse when people start to interfere with their relationship. Megatron, an old friend and a murderous sociopathic Pretender whose morals are questionable at best all seem bent on tearing them apart.More tags to be added when they aren't spoilers. ESL
Relationships: Starscream/Tarn (Transformers)
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

_ "Do you promise we’ll be friends forever?! '' _

_ "I promise! And I’m gonna protect you with my life" _

Such an innocent promise made when we were small and I still keep it in my spark today. For us few remaining seekers, a derivation of aerialbots, a promise was a promise for life and with me it was no different.

I came from a lower social class in the city of Vos but I was born with seeker programming, a rare occurrence. They took me out of my family, for better or worse I was sold at a high price to the military air commander of the city. I would be trained to be a warrior. From that moment my life was limited to training until that fateful night…

My only positive memory from that time was when I snuck out of the base to enjoy the stars. On that particular night I heard a little noise. A crying seeker on the edge of Vos, a mech and a seeker just like me. But his frame was thinner than mine. At the time I didn't know who he was but it wouldn't change the fact that we would be friends for a lifetime.

We were in hiding almost every night that I was training at that base until the other seeker was relocated to a safer location, and it was only on the farewell night that I discovered that he was the youngest prince of Vos, the illegitimate son of the Winglord.

But for me, it didn't matter, I finally had a friend and he was a seeker just like me so we made that promise and switched our private frequencies. It was our secret. And then we parted and only saw each other again almost a century later when we were older.

Even though we were apart, we chatted using private sequences and told each other everything. I told him about my training and he would talk about his studies and how he wanted to become a renowned scientist. I didn't have big dreams, to tell you the truth, I didn't have a dream of my own, I just wanted to stay alive, it was enough for me that I had nothing from the beginning. I was a war tool. 

We met again during a gala dance for Nobles. I was there as a security guard, training for me, when I saw him alone in a corner. He hadn't changed much and was still small and thin. Helpless.

I managed to approach him without drawing attention to me, and when he noticed me, he smiled and then we went to the garden. If someone saw us we would give the excuse that I was escorting a nobleman for security reasons. We talked all night until the party was over and reaffirmed our promise of the past and parted again.

Much later, I received the news that I would be a bodyguard for a nobleman who just entered the Lycon Academy and to my surprise, it was the friend who made this request to my superiors. Of course, we pretend we never met, but when we were alone in his room inside the Academy, we were able to remove our masks and be ourselves. I was happy.

Time passed and he was no longer that fragile and helpless seeker of the past, he was a great scientist and my desire to stay with him to protect him only increased more and more, however, as time went by, we were separating .

Our worlds were different. He was a nobleman while I was a simple person who was sold to become a soldier. We moved further and further away until he had to return to the castle. A war broke out and he needed to stay safe while I went to the battlefield.

I saw the city of Vos, so magnificent and beautiful, being consumed in flames. I saw companions lose their lives and I saw the darkness when I was hit by an enemy plasma weapon. On the floor, wounded and not knowing if I would survive, I just wondered if my friend was safe, if he was okay ... in fact, I haven't seen him as a friend in a while and, as much as I refuted saying to myself even though, it was not that feeling that I felt, I was wrong. I was always in love with him, from the first moment I saw him, but now I knew only darkness. A forced stasis in the black and dark of space. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cogman's ward is sus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to put song lyrics at the beginning of the chapter so we can hit all the tropes.

_ And all these tears are from the dust in our eyes _

_  
And all these years just keep on passing us by _

_  
And all this misery makes it hard to deny _

_  
We all know that we're just born to die _

_  
That's the way it goes when you're just born to die _

Cogman was good at puttering. He learned it from Sir Burton some time ago and now that there was a new master, lucky number 13 gave him enough reason to putter rather than pace the halls of their quaint Earldom.

He didn’t have much of a purpose any further. Cataclysms were averted and there was only one threat from Unicron remaining. Still, Cogman enjoyed his new master, even with all her flaws. 

One such flaw was that she slept wherever they liked, oftentimes giving cause for Cogman to prowl around seeking comfortable nooks to find where she was. Luckily, he found her the night before so the breakfast he now carried had a sure destination; the Witwickan room.

All the curtains were drawn as to not disturb her so Cogman set the breakfast tray down before going to each window and pulling aside the thick velvet curtains. On the last one he made a note of the dust that gently floated through the peeking rays of sun. 

“Arise, child of Unicron.”

Normally Cogman would probably just shake his master violently awake or make some snarky comment about the hour, even though it wasn’t that late. But Cassandra was a special case; those four words turned her on. 

No one was quite sure where the organic parts of Cassandra ended and where the technological ones began. To call her a techno-organic would imply anyone had knowledge of who she was before her transformation. All that was known about Cassandra was that she loathed Cybertronians and allowed the Quintessa to reformat her body to make her an effective weapon. Cassandra was now the key to Unicron, his child and a horrid combination of human, Cybertronian, and Unicronian technology.

And now she stretched out like a cat on his favorite antique chaise with nothing but a button up shirt on and yawning. 

“Rise and shine you lazy mutt.”

Cassandra was used to his sharp tongue by now. Oddly enough, he was the only Cybertronian she could stand for long and she the only human alive he could put up with serving. Even if she sometimes refused to wear clothing.

Cogman handed her a mug of tea before opening the last bit of curtain. 

“Good morning, Cogman. What’s for breakfast?”

Cogman turned and with flourish removed the cloche, “A smoked salmon avocado toast with aioli and cucumber base with capers. A millennials wet dream.”

She smiled at him, which was the close she could get to laughing, “Thank you, Cogman.”

The Headmaster glanced over at her before making an audible sigh, “Dear Lord, child you brought out the wrong leg.”

“Hmm?” Cassandra looked down to see one of her legs was an ottobock running prosthetic. She took a sip of tea as her transformium leg shifted back into something that looked human.

As she ate her toast Cogman listed off the many activities that now fell to her as the secret Earl of Folgan. It was mostly social events to camouflage the fact she was admittedly a walking bomb. 

“Running diagnostics,” Cassandra winked, rather closed her left eye which when it opened was now illuminated with something only the astute could read. 

“How is…your little friend?”

Cassandra blinked her display off and unbuttoned her blouse revealing, in it’s fully glory, a protoform spark housed in her chest.

Truly, her creator was a monster. The spark was harvested from the dying Cybertron and now it rested in a protected chamber in her chest. It served as a symbiote. It kept her alive and she it. Few Decepticons would dare extinguish a protoform spark but removing it from her would trigger a chain reaction and set off an explosion capable of reviving Unicron. It was one final gift from Quintessa. 

Cassandra herself couldn’t be considered evil just as Cogman really couldn’t be considered good. She just had to be reminded of what not to do. For example, when she first moved in she wanted a cat and Cogman told her she could have one when the dogs passed. He then had to remind her  _ not _ to help that process along. But over the years, in the care of Cade, Peter, and the occasional blast resistant Autobot, much of her unbridled cruelty was directed at the Decepticons now trying to take Earth for their own. Only, sometimes she didn’t  _ ask  _ if the Cybertronian was Autobot or Decepticon before shooting.

Cogman, after checking over the light life of the protoform, seemed satisfied and pulled back, “It will be your duty for Decepticon hunting later this month. Unfortunately, you are going to the Americas so remember; all men are unlucky bastards and don’t deserve you.”

“Thank you, Cogman.”

“I’m taking your blanket. You are to  _ wait,”  _ he pointed at her, “ _ right here.  _ I will not have you flashing the neighbors again.”

She nodded but stood up and kissed Cogman’s helm, “I’ll just put away my things.”

“Stay. Put.” 

This time she listened, mainly because she was looking at some of the old maps which Cogman would have to clean up later. 

“I’ve brought you some clothes and  _ please _ refrain from changing until I've turned round. Think of your dignity.”

“I don’t have any dignity, Cogman,” but she kissed him on the forehead again, “This is a cute outfit.”

“I took inspiration from Elizabeth Emanuel and the two piece fashions of the eighties. I think about your form a lot and do believe it compliments it well.”

Before coming here she wore a skin tight suit and not much else. Something was wrong with her head and she no longer seemed to have the part that made her embarrassed. Peter would argue that her whole mess of a body wasn’t human anymore. But Cogman knew she was mostly human in that regard. It was the squishy middle bits he didn’t understand. But only humans could be that hypocritically cruel.

Cogman turned around hoping that she was getting changed, “Remember to wear the bra, my lady.”

“Yeah.” 

Once she was properly dressed Cogman checked her teeth, sometimes they would be pointy, she bit through a teacup once. One of the Duchess of Pandora’s  _ best  _ teacups. Cogman had to create a perfect replica to replace it including aging the paint, an utter farce.

“I would much rather be hunting,” she told him quietly.

There were reasons she was here, this was a luxurious prison but a prison no less. The Autobots wanted to keep the protoform spark safe until they could put it into a sparkling. Or a cold construct. But Optimus kept with his morals and would not compromise if it meant ending the human’s life. Cogman’s spark sang for her. When he was young all he wanted to do was pound Decepticon aft as well. 

“In time, my lady.” He told her softly, “In time.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I believe this chapter has two lines that are the pinnacle of Transformers Fanfiction and no other fanfiction can top. Hopefully, you agree.

Maybe Starscream just wanted to get off that pesky list. After all, why else would you marry a cult leader except to gain the benefits? 

Tarn was atrocious. He would use his so called talents and flatter people he felt were equals. He would attack their enemies and fake being their friend. Once he had his tight knit group full of artisans and scribes he used them to create a manifesto with Megatron as the central focus. In truth, it was just a way for Tarn to feel powerful without any true talent. To make it seem that he was like Soundwave or Starscream, or even Megatron. But in truth Tarn was just a leader of a set of equally pathetic followers all tied together with the idea that someday they would be the one to make something great. Sometimes Starscream thought Tarn was only his lover because of the  _ idea  _ of Starscream being Megatron’s second in command. But mostly, Starscream just enjoyed the weird twisted love that provided some iota of control in their very chaotic life. 

In truth Tarn was nothing more than a hypocrite. But Starscream got a secret thrill in calling him out on this behavior. Tarn would get angry and Starscream’s processor would buzz and they would do something stupid like have hate interface on a tarmac. Only very dysfunctional people would call that a relationship or romanticize it, but it was the only excitement that broke apart this stupid inbetween war they were having. Did they even blow stuff up anymore?

It seemed Earth was the new place to be with all the new Decepticon’s arriving every day. Which meant Starscream had to deal with the pesky humans again. He hated humans. Tarn had never seen one, which was lucky for him. Every time Starscream got in the air it was some human air traffic controller asking him why he was in their airspace. Decepticons now had to push all their fight logs through to air traffic control or risk being shot down for some dumb human thinking that HE, STARSCREAM, GLORIOUS LEADER OF THE DECEPTICONS was another dumb human from some another dumb country. But it was easier than changing your form every time you flew over a border. Which by the way? They didn’t even mark them on the land? How was he supposed to know?

Tarn didn’t understand. He’s panzer and usually wasn’t sent out on missions because of his unstable energy. He could just as quickly turn on a fellow Decepticon if it meant he could blame it on his little Megatron cult rules.

Sometimes, Starscream wondered if maybe he was jealous it wasn’t a Starscream cult. He usually reconsidered when he caught a glimpse of the assortment of aging misfit toys Tarn chose to make his followers. Of course Tarn would seem cool to them; they’re morons.

Starscream brushed off his thoughts, “What’s on the agenda today?”

Soundwave tapped a screen and brought up a flight pattern, “Patrol.”

Starscream rolled his optics, “What do we even patrol for, we don’t even  _ engage _ the Autobots we see. We just tell Megatron where they are.”

“You do as I command, Starscream,” a loud booming voice spoke from behind them, “Not  _ question my every command _ .”

Starscream rolled his optics as Megatron stepped into the briefing room, “We patrol so we know where to strike and when.”

As Megatron faced him he gave a subtle little smoocharoo to Soundwave. Like 0 0

===3

Starscream sneered. If Tarn knew about that relationship he might not worship Megatron so much. 

“So, what? I’m supposed to go on patrol until I expire and rust?”

“You’ll do what I order.”

“Rust then.”

Megatron didn’t admonish him as he got up and walked away. Starscream earned his right to be sassy in the war for Cybertron.

Another patrol on this endlessly boring planet.


	4. Chapter 4

I felt my programs restart. I don't know how long I was in stasis mode but one thing was for sure: I was online, the pain in my whole body was the biggest nuisance of it. It felt like I was hit by a meteor shower, several times in a row. 

I opened my opticians, I quickly noticed that I was on top of a berth and in a place that seemed to be a medical wing, which was new to me because my injuries would never be taken care of by a professional bot doctor, at most it was always someone else. A squad bot to fix the wounds so we could get back on the battlefield.

I tried to stand. They would need me back on the field sooner rather than later. But when I got on my pedes my processor took its revenge. 

"When I find that bastard with the plasma gun, I'll turn him into scrap!" I held my helm, trying to ignore the throbbing pain there. 

I sat down in the berth. I was alone and that place didn't really seem Cybertronian, much less resembling Vos. I had to forcefully restart my battle systems and that's when I saw my internal timer saying that it had been almost four million years.

"I think the blow I took was so strong that the system glitched." I muttered aloud to myself. But to my surprise and after several systems restart; I couldn’t deny it anymore, all that time had passed.

This was not good.

It was not good.

The door to my strange medbay opened, I saw an orange and white bot come in, accompanied by a bigger one in blue and red. Both grounders. Not a good sign.

"I see that you finally woke up,” the orange and white bot began. Although he wasn’t Cybertronian, he looked like a medical unit. “It was not easy to bring you back in the stasis mode. You have been disconnected for a long time, perhaps since the beginning of the war.” 

The other one should be his superior, perhaps another doctor? The only information I knew for certain was the war continued.

"A group found you on patrol.” The blue and red one said, “My name is Optimus Prime. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have."

I just stared at the two bots, until I got up. My energy levels were at their maximum but my external weapons were gone. There was also a weapon lock snuck into the medical codes, probably for security reasons on their part. Even without them, my battle computers already calculated a way to out maneuver them, I couldn’t even shut off those systems woven into my code as a weapon of war.

I stretched my shoulder plating, “You are correct, doctor. With that in mind I’d like to know everything. I want to have access to all the war files and to know what happened with Vos command. If you have a secure line, that would be best to contact my superiors.”

They exchanged looks and I realized something was very wrong. 

Something like this would be hard to explain. But Optimus started sending me files about the war and starting patiently, and sympathetically telling me what happened to Cybertron and, mainly, the fate of Vos.

I felt my spark break but I didn't show it, I couldn't. I had failed in my mission to protect the city and, above all, to keep my promise to him.

The orange and white one looked at Optimus and then to me, “I think my patient needs to recover. We’ll take our leave.”

I watched them two leave. So the medbay only had one exit. Anything else would have to be forced open. I wasn’t a prisoner, yet. 

I would have to start to study the files that were handed to me, holding back the tears that wanted to fall, not because my home planet was destroyed but because I would never see him again. I swallowed the crying, cleaned my optics, and began to study the whole situation in which I found myself.

There were now two factions, Autobots led by Optimus Prime and Decepticons led by Megatron. I didn't find much useful information about the factions in the archives, obviously omitted on purpose. I don't blame them, I would do the same thing if I was in their position. I should even thank them for activating me again and fixing me up, the doctor really did an excellent job and also kept my original colors.

I am a white colored seeker with touches of light blue and having small touches in yellow, blue optics and, like every seeker, I was not very tall and I have a body with design for speed and no force. I was without my weapon, a Dual Blade, whose blades are always hidden under my forearms in addition to the firing missiles characteristic of a seeker having.

I took a deep breath, put my thoughts in order and made a decision: I would stay with them but I would not officially join their faction. I would take advantage of their goodwill until I found a superior from Vos, besides grounders weren’t very good at taking care of seeker forms.

It didn't take long for me to gain the trust of this young Prime's team, especially their youngest member, the yellow scout called Bumblebee. He was too innocent, he didn't know the horrors of war, at least not at my level where I was sold by my own family to be able to become a soldier.

I also studied about the planet I was on, Earth, and about the life it contains. If he were here he would love to study the peculiar life forms of this planet ... he was always curious and hungry for knowledge and a scientist at heart.

So I delved into the files for the planet itself. 

The Autobot faction aligned itself from organics known as humans, they provided alt modes which would not draw alarm from the humans to the Autobots. They disliked Megatron as he viewed them as a species to conquer, not to cooperate with. It wasn’t a very good strategic move. Of course the humans would align with the team that chose not to harvest their energy.

The humans were the ones who introduced me to different aircraft so that I could have a new alt mode. I chose a jet that humans called the F-39 Gripen, the only aircraft whose design I liked, the rest of the aircraft were too rough for my taste. When I was in my bipedal alt mode for the first time after scanning the jet, everyone was surprised that I did not leave my wings on my back, but instead fell on my body. For me it was better to leave it like this to prevent them from being hit in addition to leaving me a little more feminine and elegant. I always clung to opportunities to get more elegant in order to get the attention of a certain bot but he didn't notice my intention. It was one of the things I liked most about him. 

With a new alt mode and my weapons recovered, I started doing small missions as a patrol and search for energon, usually together with Bumblebee. Until finally I was assigned to enter the battles and finally leave the base more often. Finally! I couldn't take it anymore having to train only in the training area where, with me, I didn't stay whole for a long time when I got to train there. Training with those who’d only been thrust into a war, and not lived it every moment of every day was almost cruel. I’m pretty sure Bumblebee didn’t even have a battle computer.

But, something inside me, deep in my spark, told me that at some point during these battles my life would change completely and I clung to that feeling with all my might.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The OC of this chapter: Skybreaker 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream runs into the Autobots.

Of all days to actually encounter an Autobot, it had to be today. Starscream would not have taken Sigma 18, one of the more trigger happy of his armada. He fired on the Autobots without so much as an order, something Starscream would have to discipline him about later. 

But for now he needed to defend his armada against the Autobots, who rightly began firing back to defend themselves.

How did the Autobots always seem to have someone new in their midst? It seemed that Primus was always against him, every time he went out.

He had to ground to provide backup for one of his Armada and the pile of scrapheap enabled homing protocol. 

"Scrap!" Starscream could not be in a more vulnerable position than that, if he were going to ask Soundwave for reinforcements surely Megatron would later punish him in some way by blaming him for the failure of the mission. 

Being grounded meant being susceptible to Autobots, they could easily attack while he was busy trying to take off. 

And there was  _ one _ Autobot among this group who was out for vengeance. 

"What else could go wrong?" Starscream muttered to himself.

As if speaking a self-fulfilling prophecy, he saw Autobot Arcee line his wingspan to her blaster's sights, a movement that he certainly couldn't avoid. Enough had gone wrong, why not end it now? At least if he came home with an injury he could explain why a routine patrol went so wrong. The Seeker closed his optics waiting for the searingly painful shot, a shot which never came.

Starscream slowly opened his optics. His view was blocked by someone standing in front of him, back to him. Peeking around the frame, he saw the Autobots with a look of anger and fear.He looked down to see Arcee on the ground, injured. The arm that had once pointed a blaster at him was now on the ground, separated from the body. A perfect and clean cut.

“Get up, Star.” rang out a crystal clear and unwavering command, “Staying grounded doesn't suit the likes of us seekers.’’

That voice, Starscream knew that voice. It took him back to a long time ago.

"Sky ... breaker?" Starscream looked at the bot that defended him from a potentially fatal attack. The bot turned to him and stared, it was a femme of predominantly white and light blue color with hints of yellow and sapphire eyes.

"Hello, little Star.” She gave him that almost smile just as she used to, “In trouble again? Some things never change."

"Skybreaker!!" Starsream stood up very well and in a jump hugged the young seeker.

A hug reciprocated by the second in command to the Decepticon army. The cold, hard killing machine who made his name in the spilt energon of others was being called ‘little Star’ by an Autobot. Both sides stood still, with the exception of one Autobot helping Arcee retrieve her servo and drag her back from the seeker duo.

“That’s my designation alright” Skybreaker gave a few small pats on Starscream’s back. 

“But how?! I thought you died in the war still on Cybertron! How is it possible that you are here, on Earth?!"

Skybreaker gave him a very large smile but whacked the back of his helm.

"Auch! What was that for?"

"Why are you concerned for me? How many lose screws do you have, Star?! What in Primus’ name are you doing here? This is a battlefield, you are too important to take this kind of chance!!"

"In case you haven't noticed, Skybreaker, we're in a war,” Starscream frowned, wondering what the Autobot’s told her, “And I'm not that little seeker from before! Or if I haven't noticed that I'm bigger than you are now?"

Starscream won another slap on the back of his helm. Skybreaker, like any other seeker, was small in stature. In fact, she was only four inches bigger than Bumblebee and didn't like being called short at all. Even if it was only implied.

The dialogue between Starscream and Skybreaker was interrupted when Arcee stood up with the help of Optimus Prime, energon dripping out of the recent wound. She’d recovered quick enough to speak despite Optimus’ objections. 

"What the frag? Why did you cut off my arm?! He's a Decepticon! You're an Autobot!"

Upon hearing this, Skybreaker stared at the Autobot skirmish with a calculating look that Optimus readily recognized to be that of an experienced warrior. She’d done her best to hide it thus far and he realized quickly how much a threat Skybreaker truly was. Someone who is a warrior in times of peace is a larger threat than his band of civilians turned heros. 

"I never said I was an Autobot," she replied coldly, "I was very clear that when I found a superior of mine that I wouldn't need to be with you anymore."

"We found you! We fixed you up and put you online again!" Bulkhead, a dark green bot was yelling now. 

Optimus couldn’t interrupt him, he was calculating an exit, calming wondering if they would have to defend themselves leaving. Ratchet was already on standby for Arcee.

"And that's just why I didn't kill your friend for what she was going to do with Starscream, Prin-" Skybreaker did not finish her speech because Starscream put his arm in front of her and gave a slight nod.

"Protocol D-29"

"Tsc!” Skybreaker practically spat out, “I hate that protocol."

Optimus was Orion Pax, keeper of knowledge and the Iacon cipher. He only betrayed his surprise to Starscream, who returned his confused look with grim confirmation. The young Prime knew this protocol belonged to the royal Vosnian family and that it meant hiding the true identity of a member of the royal family. It was old knowledge, as old as his Matrix. 

Skybreaker ignored the Autobots entirely and looked at Starscream "Am I allowed to speak frankly, Starscream?"

"Oh please, Skybreaker. We are not in Cybertron and there are no more superiors. You can address me as we used to do."

Skybreaker on hearing this she smiles "Thanks Primus for that! I hate these protocols ..."

"I'm glad to see that you haven't changed at all" The Autobots seeing Starscream happy was something ... disconcerting and not just for them, it seemed that the Decepticons felt the same way. The Winged Armada shifted uncomfortably without orders. 

"Can I have the yellow scout? He has a talent for being a fast fighter but his talent is completely being wasted! He doesn't even receive proper training!"

Starscream looked at Skybreaker, cocking an eyebrow "And the simple fact that you always liked small and cute things is not the denominating factor for you wanting to have Bumblebee?"

"Oh please, Star ... the fact that he is small, cute and so naive is just a bonus" she said smirking.

"I really have missed you ..."

"Yeah, yeah. We can catch up later after we take care of these Autobots, don't you think?"

"Like old times"

"Like old times indeed"

The Autobots look at how the two seekers looked at them, and it was not at all a good thing. Starscream had triggered his blasters and Skybreaker had triggered her two blades. If Optimus did not create a plan, and quickly, they would be in serious trouble.

“Optimus,” a call from Ratchet, “Should I send the Candy Shop protocol?”

“No,” Optimus stared down their once ward, “We will leave using the ground bridge. They have yet to fire on us to warrant immediate action. There is no need for further violence.”

Since she had their comm links, she should have heard the full conversation. As the groundbridge oscillated open behind him, he only hoped she knew about the threat hiding behind those words enough to not attack them as they retreated. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone is happy to welcome Skybreaker into the Decepticon ranks.

Skybreaker gathered to her blades, "As much as I wanted to remember the old days, Star, now is not the time. We have more important things to do." 

She looked at Optimus rather pointedly. The veiled threat didn’t go unnoticed but if they thought anything in their pitiful arsenal would defeat her, they were wrong. It didn't take long to realize that she was giving him a chance to retreat without being attacked. A chance that the young Prime took advantage of rather quickly.

The two seekers watched the Autobots leave over the bridge that Ratchet opened.

"Now, Star. Let's chat a little" Skybreaker looked at the Armada "Alone"

Normally, Starscream wouldn’t allow anyone to order him around like that. But it’s all Skybreaker knew. Starscream ordered his Armada Aerialbot to continue the patrol without him while they both started walking, side by side, catching up.

Skybreaker explained to Starscream how she was injured and went into stasis mode and the possibilities of how she ended up on planet Earth. The superiors, thinking she was offlined, threw her into space with the other bodies and that somehow she stopped on the planet and was found by the Autobots who put her back online. She also explained everything that went on at the base and how they trained and their energy level and firepower. But she asked Starscream to give them two terrestrial solar cycles so that the Autobots could take care of Arcee's injury and to leave the base before she gave the base location after all, it was thanks to them that she could be reunited with Starscream again. Starscream accepted, he was happy to have his only true friend alive and with him again.

I was happy to hear how my friend, and my secret crush, happily told me how he survived and how he became Second in Command of the Decepticons but my feeling of happiness soon became fury when he started telling me about his Conjunx Endura, a grounder called Tarn. 

The feeling soon turned into full hatred when Starscream told me how his Conjunx treated him, fights and beatings that he called ‘spats’. We spent a lot of time talking about it and me talking to him that Tarn was not a bot for him and how it just hurt him. To start with, they weren't together because they liked each other but because of the benefits and, little by little, I managed to make Starscream understand.

"You know that this grounder is not your sparkmate. So much so that you are just Conjux Endura and didn't sparkbound. Deep down you really know you don't love him, Star"

"I know. But I don't know what to do... Tarn was with me when things got tough and, even if only at the beginning, he seemed to show concern for me. With or without being sparkbound he was on my side ..."

"But now I'm here, little Star. And I won't let anyone else use you as a tool. Never again."

"Promise?"

"Promise"

We reaffirmed our promise from the past and then went back to where the Starscream Armada was, which reminded me of a crucial point.

"Star, these bots need rigorous training, don't you think?"

"Oh for sure. And from today you will be responsible for their training"

We both smile as we look at the aerialbots. The desperation they expressed on their faces and restless wings was a treat for me. I was going to turn them into real soldiers.

Starscream contacted Soundwave saying they finished the mission and asked for a bridge. He informed them that he would be taking an old friend too and together, we crossed the bridge. I was now on the bridge of what appeared to be a large aircraft, my attention went immediately to a lilac bot that was looking at us from his dashboard. His quiet and behaved appearance does not fool me, he was a dangerous and trained bot. His posture did not contain defensive flaws, nor did my posture. We both exchanged silent looks, one real warrior recognized the other, and after a few klicks, I made a slight movement with my head and was matched by a slight movement of his head before he got back to what he was doing before.

"This is Soundwave, Third in Command and communication leader Decepticon, he is also our best spy. The minicon on his chest is Laserbeak, she specializes in infiltration"

"I bet twenty shanix as he will tell this Laserbeak to keep an eye on me for a while" I whispered to Starscream from below, which made the seeker hold back a laugh and we both laughed behind servos. This caused exchanges of looks for us, confused looks when they saw Starscream that way, happy. Was it such an abmnormality?

But my attention was now on a large dark gray bot that entered the room accompanied by another bot a little smaller than him and, from the description, I immediately noticed that it was Tarn. I had to stop myself from sparking with fury, going against him and punching him with all my strength.

"I heard the patrol encountered trouble, Starscream."

"Yes, my lord"

Seeing that my prince called another lord bot just made me want to give those two grounders a beating but because of Protocol D-29 I had to contain it but I prevented Starscream from bowing to the leader of the Decepticons. An act that did not go unnoticed.

"Soundwave informed me that you were bringing ... a friend" Megatron said the friend's part in a tone that was more in a tone of disinterest, thinking that his seeker had no friends, only enemies. Megatron was a lot like my superiors in Cybertron in the way he saw subordinates as if they were rubbish and nothing else.

I put myself in front of Starscream before he could introduce me. "I am Skybreaker, a soldier from Battalion Five of Vos. Specializing in direct combat, chase and capture and sword fighting."

"She’s just an Autobot soldier. She’s probably a seeker who doesn't even have a specialty in air combat" Tarn spoke up gruffly, "Lord Megatron, this is an Autobot spy, we must promptly get rid of her."

Starscream opened his mouth to speak, but when he saw the way Tarn was looking at him he closed his mouth and began to lower his head

"Don't lower your head. Remember who you really are" I whispered to Starscream when I positioned myself in front of him. Starscream changed his posture; it was upright, wings raised and head up. Tarn would not like that, his plaything was growing wings. I glared at him.

"I'm not an Autobot, I was with them because I had nothing better to do. Besides, a grounder like you doesn't know anything about air combat, does it? Since you only know how to get dirty with mud" My indirect hit was not only for Tarn.

Tarn caught the insult towards his leader. He was furious and was about to activate his weapon when a big laugh filled the room. Megatron was laughing, loudly.

"Spoken like a true Decepticon! Ask Knockout for a badge, our symbol in red will suit you very well."

"Whatever."

"Lord Megatron! You cannot trust her! She is a seeker!” Tarn muttered, “Seekers are known to be weak and insubordinate."

Okay, that was the last straw.

"Then fight me, grounder. I will show you which of us is truly weak."

Tarn and I exchanged hateful looks.

"Humn ... a friendly battle to find out the rookie's fighting level.” Megatron grinned, “I will allow it. Soundwave, prepare training camp number two."

"How about we make things more interesting? A bet." I said

"Go on" Megatron spoke with a slight interest

"If I win the stupid grounder over there, you will undo his Conjunx Endura with Starscream"

“What?” Tarn sneered

"What is it? Are you afraid of losing to a weak seeker?" I taunted.

Megatron looked at Starscream, trying to see any sign of denial on his part in not wanting to accept this bet but found none. The seeker seemed to have more self-esteem than in the past and the leader of the Decepticons remembered what it was like. Tarn also noted that Starscream did not object to the bet and, with the engines revving angrily, accepted the bet.

"When I win you will have to leave this planet and never return," he countered.

"How cute! You think you can beat me!"

  
  


The news about the fight spread quickly and a small crowd came to the training area that was prepared for us to fight. Most were drones, vehicons, bots for handicrafts but, among those people, I noticed some that seemed to have some sort of rank. The first was an aerialbot that was not a seeker, it was too heavy to be one. The bot was dark blue with touches of dark yellow and small touches of gray. Another was a lighter blue but predominantly gray, a single yellow eye and grounder, and next to it was another brightly colored red grounder with flame design. It didn't take me long to notice that those two were in a relationship, small movements tell a whole story for well-trained eyes.

Tarn and I put ourselves in the arena and a force field was erected. Tarn started the attack as soon as the force field was completed. His attacks were crude, they were not thought out before the action and I easily dodged. The grounder then activated his blasters. It didn't take me long to notice the pattern.

"You are a coward! Face me!"

If he tried to annoy me with words to get me out of focus, it was a move in vain. I took a double leap backwards, dodging Tarn's shots and stopped sitting on top of a rock and crossed my leg. Soundwave not only created the shield but also activated the hologram mode and made the arena a desert spot.

"Do you know your problem, Grounders? You don't have the patience, you think everything can be solved in brute force." I was now looking at Megatron, who, like the others watching the fight, was in a hangar above. "That is why you are losing to the Autobots, Optimus Prime knows how to be patient, he knows when to attack or retreat and it is not because of the Matrix but because he knows how to act like a true leader."

Megatron held the iron bar so tightly where his hand rested that it warped completely. Soundwave who was on his side did not move or make any noise but seemed to agree with what I said and Tarn completely lost his focus when I spoke ill of his leader about decision making. Getting Tarn out of focus was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

In a quick movement I dodged the shots from his cannon and approached from below. When Tarn realized it was too late, I hit him hard on the chin, making him lose his balance and take two steps back but I still hadn't finished, I quickly put a hand on the floor and turned the body giving strength to the kick that I hit the grounder's head making him go to the ground.

When Tarn looked at me again, I already had a blade millimeters from his neck.

"And just so you know, I wasn't running away from your attacks, I was analyzing you. You can fire every 0.7 nano klicks six consecutive times using your normal blasters and after the six shots you have a 12 klick pause until you can fire again. Your cannon has a bigger cap between shots, 4 klicks and you can only fire three shots in a row because the cannon heats up quickly and you need to let it cool down before firing it again. As I said before, you guys are not patient , do not make plans and rely only on brute force. If this training was a real fight you would have died in less than 40 kliks. "

I picked up my blade, it was my victory.

"Don't forget to destroy the document that you and Starscream signed to be Conjunx Endura. You lost the bet and, for the record, I didn't even use my real power here and I didn't use the air tactics against you. You just aren't worth it for me using against you,a pity really. I have thinked that you were a little bit stronger.”

I look up and Starscream and I exchange a smile. I would bring the old Starscream back, I would bring that smart, strong and ambitious seeker back. I would bring my Starscream back even if I had to kill as much as necessary.

I left the training area and Starscream immediately went to me and we went out talking. I left the bots behind looking at Tarn, fallen to the ground and defeated.


	7. Chapter 7

Tarn was angry and the Nucleon in his systems didn’t help. He was angry at Starscream, angry at Megatron and mostly angry at that light plane for stealing away his companion. True that Starscream wasn’t exactly the best partner, but he was  _ his _ all his. Only his. Megatron’s second in command came to his berth at night and came to him when things went wrong. No one else.

Why couldn’t he have someone that was exclusively his?

A bleep showed up on his HUD. Someone, or something was nearby. It registered as Cybertronian in nature but didn’t have a coded marker, the kind that masked the appearances of most Autobots and Decepticons. 

Perhaps it was another shipwrecked Cybertronian, ignorant of the world around them and why they were here on Earth. Tarn would have to give them a warm welcome. 

His audials picked up sound. He would have to get closer to really figure out who it was. Perhaps it was scavengers, trying to recover some Cybertron tech before leaving the solar system. But it sounded like a voice. 

A human voice.

Tarn frowned and turned away. Humans weren’t worth the time it took for them to explore his vehicle mode. He ignored any attempt to be silent, knowing that the humans would be scared off by the loud noises, he didn’t need to be silent anymore.

He didn’t expect a blast perfectly hitting him square on the back of helm. Any more energized and it probably would’ve blown it clean off. Tarn fell to his knees, his processor reeling from the blow. His HUD warned him of several system critical system errors. It didn’t matter, his Nucleon would help him recover soon enough. 

There was a soft crunch of leaves, the human moved more quickly than he realized. 

“I’m here, Cogman. He’s no vehicon.”

There was a slight buzz, the tin noise of a commlink given to humans. 

Tarn groaned as a sudden blow knocked him to his elbows. He keeled over, rolling on his backstruts to ease the discomfort in his helm. Where was the Autobot with this human? Were they cloaked? 

He heard the human climb up on him, speaking to her commlink partner, “You do that.”

She entered his field of vision, tilting her head like a curious cat and fixing him with an unblinking gaze. She had a weapon in her hand….or perhaps on her arm.

“I forgot to ask,” the woman spoke to him coldly, “Do you identify as Autobot?”

She hesitated, allowing him enough time to answer. It was her mistake. It only took a flick to her helm to send her flying. 

Tarn stood up, rubbing the back of his helm. What in the name of Megatron was that thing? It was probably dead now, but he had never seen a human with any kind of weapon capabilities strong enough to daze a seasoned warbuild. 

“Ugh,” came the voice from the prone human.

Tarn whipped around and looked at the human, who now raised herself up on two of her little human arms. One of her pedes...or legs, was broken. She looked down at it when she tried to stand. It swirled into small cubes before returning back to a human leg.

Could humans always do that? Megatron would want to see.

But how could Tarn capture her? There were so many humans aligned with the Autobots, which one was this? Circuitbreaker? Spark plug? Cody? Ezra?

Maybe he could shove the barrel of his canon on top of her and put a piece of metal underneath?

She was standing now, examining her arm cannon for damage.

“I don’t suppose you’re the type of human who comes quietly?”

“Not even if you beg for it,” came her disquieting remark. 

Maybe he could blast her with a canon. Why were things so complicated when you were trying to keep them alive for longer than it took to torture them?

She bled, that much was certain as she faced him. Her nose thing dripped red, the color of human energon. But she seemed more unaffected by his blow than he did from hers. She didn’t bother to wipe it away.

“I want to take you alive.”

“I’ve heard that before,”

Another crackle of a comm link and Tarn took the opportunity to give her a swift kick. She was more prepared for it this time. What she wasn’t prepared for was him transforming down, capturing her within his alt mode.

He immediately activated a comm jamming signal, whoever was helping her wouldn’t get her back. But she was immediately fighting back namely, shooting up his insides.

He engaged protocols, mistranforming parts to pin her down inside him. 

“Stop struggling.” Tarn commanded.

Since she could transform Tarn activated one of his half transformed guns, it would create an energy blast capable of disabling a full sized Decepticon. He had to aim perfectly or he would hurt himself as he fired upon the human. Surprisingly, she stopped and Tarn tightened his hold on to her just in case she had a plan. She transformed down her weapon and he tightened it further. But she didn’t move, she remained slumped against his interior. 

Tarn commed Soundwave, asking for a groundbridge directly to his private bunker. There, no one would bother him or anyone else who came around looking. Soundwave accepted.

The groundbridge swirled behind him as he drove into the dark and cool interior of his bunker.

Tarn used the earth interconnected computer net, a depository of all of Earth’s knowledge to good “what do human women like”. He found the answer rather surprisingly simple. Once he researched more on what that entailed, he was confident in his ability to perform. He decided to wake the human sleeping inside of him. 

Tarn needed to be polite to this human.

“I mean you no harm.”

“Are you an Autobot?”

“No,” Tarn practically shorted out with the accusation but he calmed down, “No, I am a Decepticon. But I am not going to hurt you.”

“I’m going to hurt you,” she told him, “I am going to find every hinge and joint and tear you apart piece by piece.”

Tarn chuckled, he had to admit having her threaten him was rather endearing, “Please, I might be able to help you. Then you could help me.”

An idea was forming in his helm.

“I want each and every Decepticon to be dead,” she spoke the words as if she was making a suggestion for lunch.

“The Autobots don’t let you do that do they?”

“And?”

“I get to kill Decepticons.”

She stopped struggling. He had her attention then.

“The Autobots want to keep us alive, but Megatron doesn’t want to keep around people who aren’t loyal to his cause. My job is to kill every one that violates his cause.”

“How many do I get to kill?”

Tarn shrugged, “As many that are on the list. I can even give you access to the ones off the planet.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“You make my job easier,” Tarn confessed, “And there are some Decepticons I cannot defeat. I only managed to capture you because of your distraction.”

If Cassandra could fold her arms she could. 

“Now that I’ve explained my position, I will let you go.”

Tarn transformed back into his bipedal mode, ejecting her onto the bunker floor. She lifted herself up with her human servos again. Her flimsy armor hung off of her and he saw a glow underneath in the darkness.

“What is this?”

She didn’t push away his claw as he pushed aside that flimsy armor to tap on the spark embedded in her.

“I thought you were all briefed on me,” She began to unbutton her shirt and exposed herself fully to Tarn, “It’s a protoform spark.”

“Perhaps I should relieve you of it?”

“If you’d like to set off a bomb that destroys all of Unicron, you are welcome to.”

Tarn didn’t have to think about that for long, “Thank you for not attacking me, little sweetspark. My name is Tarn.”

“I am Cassandra,” she let him raise her helm, “Don’t call me sweetspark.”

“Oh, but that is the kind of greeting we give to little sparks like yours,” Tarn replied sweetly.

There was so much he wanted from all of this. 

“There is something else I want from you.”

“What?”

“All of you. I want you to be mine.”

Cassandra turned her head up as he did his best to wipe away the dried energon on her.

“You want me? Like a pet?”

“Carnally.” Tarn offered, “And in sparkbond.” 

If she were a Decepticon, the human probably would’ve been short circuiting. In truth, she had only ever been a tool, a weapon against Cybertron and then against the Quintessa. Then, when she finally was allowed back among the humans she was weird and abhorrent. She’d never really been wanted in that way. Cogman had a protective streak in him.

“You shut off my comms.”

“I can’t have you telling the Autobots about me.”

“I can kill Decepticons?”

“Yes,” Tarn murmured softly, “I have one in mind you could kill right away.”

“Like kill them right? Remove their sparks from their chambers and consume them?”

Tarn pulled back in surprise, “You eat sparks?”

Cassandra tapped on her protoform’s spark chamber, “It’s how I’m still alive. It’s not like I can drink Energon.”

She did have a point.

“So does carnally mean you want to eat me?” Cassandra asked cautiously. 

“No.”

“Well, I’m finding it hard to believe you would want something like that,” She attempted to stand and Tarn became gentlemanly, offering the tip of his claw to her assistance. “Eating me feels more likely.”

“I can minimize.”

Before she could ask questions, Tarn minimized. Although this form would be uncomfortable to hold for too long, he would persevere. 

Something was going on in that little processor of hers, “You will not be able to throw me, my mass is the same as it was before.”

She backed away from him and Tarn realized his mistake. In many of the videos the female human required some kind of surface to alleviate the physical exertion required in taking numerous partners. Cassandra kept her eyes on him and him alone so he would have to find a suitable service. Maybe this was part of the rituals involved. 

“I assure you, you will only need myself as a partner moving forward.” Tarn informed her kindly. 

She made a small noise in her throat when she found herself backed into a surface. Tarn would be the respectful partner, and honestly he didn’t know how to remove her armor. There  _ was _ something underneath but he didn’t know the logistics. But she could figure that out right.

But there was the mashing of the faces part. He leaned on a servo placed above her helm and moved into to smash them together. But she lifted a hand and helped the process along, kissing him.

So it  _ wasn’t _ mashing their faces together. It was kissing. Tarn let her kiss him for a few seconds and then pulled away.

“All men are unlucky bastards and they don’t deserve me,” she said before crashing her helm into his and snarling. 


	8. Chapter 8

Tarn finally pinned the snarling vixen down finally after a good heated fight. She was leaking red energon again but glared at him now that he had stasis cuffs for minibots on her. 

“Why won’t you let me take care of you?”

“Cause you’re an idiot?”

Tarn was frustrated and back in his main form, “When you are mine that is the right thing to do.”

“Why did you think that’s something I wanted?”

Tarn pulled up his search which made Cassandra shake her head, “But I’m not a human woman.”

It was something Tarn didn’t consider. 

“My apologies. I think I might’ve made a poor first impression.”

Cassandra tilted her head to the side but said nothing. 

Tarn vented, “Here let me clean you up.”

There were plenty of rags lying around for him to wipe away the energon, “You have an injury.”

“The nanobots will heal me eventually.”

Tarn nodded and kept wiping away at the energon drying on her face. 

“If I can’t even best you, why do you think I can kill other Decepticons?”

“You’re holding back.”

He could almost say she pouted, “I’m not supposed to kill anything. I’m to hold my position and wait for Autobots.”

“They probably think you’re still in the woods.”

There was a beeping noise and Tarn removed something from the printer. He lifted her weird head mane, hair wasn’t it? Tarn affixed it to her neck; a mini-con collar. Then he dropped her hair around her shoulders and watched her glare up at him.

“It feels like a pet thing to me.”

“It’s just a training device,” Tarn soothed, “It’s for mini-cons but you aren’t a mini-con.”

“The Autobots didn’t put a collar on me.”

“Think of it as an ornament, or a faction badge.” Tarn leaned down to her, “Something to give you pride.”

“You really want me to be yours, don’t you?” Cassandra showed the first real sign of emotion when she frowned and spoke softly.

“Of course,” Tarn smiled.

“How lonely.” Cassandra confessed sweetly before her voice turned sour, “Why don’t you take off these stasis cuffs so I can show my appreciation?”

Tarn reared back as if she struck him again. “I’ll contact Megatron.”

XXXXX

Megatron was not pleased to hear this bit of news. Between Starscream, Tarn, and Skybreaker he thought he would have enough to deal with. Now he had the Autobot pretender. She took out an entire scavenger group and pulled their sparks from their chambers while they still functioned. The only reason she held back anything was because her only excursion with the main Decepticon forces was around humans. One of the Autobot humans threw himself in front of her blast and managed to keep her from killing everyone on sight. They were in the process of reprogramming her to be less hostile and not remove sparks from her enemy’s hull. 

He pressed his nose bridge. All of this was starting to make him wish he was still on Dark Energon. So Tarn wanted her to be in the DJD. It would solve a lot of problems until she was taken off the planet. No one knew exactly why Quintessa wanted her on Cybertron. But it was highly advised by numerous Autobots scientists that Tarn and the pretender  _ not  _ go off planet which was exactly where Megatron wanted those two. 

Tarn was on his way back to base. It took longer than normal because the DJD leader had no idea how to treat his fellow ‘con’s let alone a human. The Autobots sent along sustenance and Megatron had to listen to a lengthy message from Cogman that rambled on for so long he just had Soundwave listen to it and give him all the really relevant information. 

_ Primus, what had he gotten himself into?  _

Nothing good. Skybreaker was inflating Starscream’s ego and now Tarn had a pet. An unruly one at that. 

It was easy to tell what Tarn would do next. It was just if he had tamed the human quickly enough to truly achieve his goals. 


End file.
